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Egypt detains ex-presidential candidate Khaled Ali

Detention follows complaint that Ali made an 'obscene hand gesture' outside a Cairo court in January, his lawyer says.

24 May 2017 05:34 GMT

Ali reacts to the ruling which challenged the government for handing over islands to Saudi Arabia [File: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters]

A prominent Egyptian opposition leader was detained on Tuesday for "offending public decency" amid what rights lawyers say is a wave of arrests of potential presidential candidates one year before an election.

Ali, who has suggested he might run against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in an election slated for 2018, was the main lawyer to bring a case against the government after it agreed to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in April last year.

Ali is being sued by a private citizen over a photograph in which he appears to make an "obscene hand gesture" while being lifted up by a crowd following his victory in the aforementioned case, according to his lawyer.

Ali denies the authenticity of the photo.

Ali was the main lawyer to bring a case against the government after it agreed to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia [Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters]

His detention order follows a spate of recent arrests that rights lawyers say has been directed at opposition figures in Egypt who have indicated they could run against Sisi next year.

Eight members of Ali's left-wing Bread and Freedom Party (BFP) have been detained since April on charges including "misusing social media to incite against the state" and "insulting the president", according to the party's legal adviser.